As an American, you have a right to good health care that is effective, accessible, and affordable, that serves you from infancy through old age, that allows you to go to practitioners and facilities of your choosing, and that offers a broad range of therapeutic options.
We currently have an expensive system that is not making people well. While there has been tremendous debate over access and payment, there has been less focus on the content of health care. Without a change in that content, we will never have a sustainable system; all attempts at reform will be taken down by unmanageable costs.
As I outlined in my book, Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future, here are some changes we can demand immediately:
1. Ban direct-to-consumer marketing and advertising by big pharma.
Sales of $643 billion a year have made the pharmaceutical industry the number one most profitable business in the country. Most pharmaceutical companies spend a huge portion of their budget on advertising and promotion. The result is a nation of people who believe there's a pill for every health problem. Big pharma advertising is producing a distorted and narrow view of how health care works, which is why there are several bills moving through Congress that aim to clamp down on it.
2. Create a National Institute of Health and Healing at the NIH and fund it generously
If our health care system is to achieve greatness, our medicine needs to return to its roots. It must focus again on the natural and innate healing power of human beings. This means investing more in research that will help us understand the body's ability to maintain health, defend itself from harm, regenerate damaged tissue and adapt to injury and loss. Doing so will help us create and improve treatment and therapies that are less invasive and less expensive while making the most of our most powerful healing asset: ourselves.
3. Create an Office of Health Promotion within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and fund it appropriately.
We spend 40 times more on the health risks of terrorism than we do on the health risks of obesity, which kills about 400,000 people a year. There is too much emphasis on treating disease rather than on protecting health in the first place. We need to invest real dollars and ingenuity in educating people about nutrition, exercise and other healthy activities. It's the single most effective way to defeat the epidemic of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and conditions that lead to life-threatening diseases.
4. Teach health promotion and integrative medicine at medical schools and residency programs.
We need to create a new generation of hands-on primary care physicians who are as knowledgeable about promoting health practices that their patients can adopt to prevent serious, chronic diseases as they are about disease management and crisis intervention.
5. Require insurers to cover health promotion and integrative care.
Millions of Americans today are taking dietary supplements, practicing yoga and integrating other natural therapies into their lives. These are all preventive measures that will keep them out of the doctor's office and drive down the costs of treating serious problems like heart disease and diabetes. Yet none of these healthy activities is covered by insurance companies.
6. Establish an Office of Health Education within the U.S. Department of Education.
We need to start healthy habits young. This office would make nutrition, diet, and exercise an integrated part of every child's education and encourage innovative ways to teach healthy practices to young people so the messages stick.
7. Learn how to take care of yourself!
You can't afford to get sick, and you can't depend on the present health care system to keep you well. It's up to you to protect and maintain your body's innate capacity for health and healing by making the right choices in how you live.
Yours in health,
Andrew Weil, M.D.
Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future is available now. Visit the website Why Our Health Matters for more information.
Andrew Weil, M.D., is the founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and the editorial director of www.DrWeil.com. Become a fan on Facebook.
Follow Dr. Andrew Weil on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrWeil
Let small businesses be in charge of promoting large industries to a smaller scale, while increasing the funding to non-profits and residences for ongoing research and health promotion.
Lastly, we all need to take care of ourselves. This "Healthcare Reform Debacle" is too much. Let's go back to basics. What's going to happen in 2089? I know social security will be eliminated, but will US healthcare?
Dr. Weil...so many good points (even as a so called liberal/progressive I kind of pull back from establishing TWO NEW government agencies...believing the "guts" are in place...and we use what we have after substantial modification..but TWO new agencies..no..sorry)..
My own horror story..in April completed (I have insurance via work)...aggressive cancer treatment...2 weeks ago...POW...dangerous pulmonary embolisms put me in emergency admission..but anti-coagulants saved my life...THEN..some COMPUTER error...knocked me out of "insurance"..saying I have NO health insurance...(any insurance co-pays are the FIRST thing I pay..I'd be homeless as opposed to not paying any and ALL of my part of insurance premiums)..but..I am dealing with a computer..every at the head company agrees "yes..this is a mistake"...then "but right now..we don't show you as insured". so..after surviving (maybe) cancer..and suriviving for now the Pulmonary embolism issue (another one could kill me...so that's what we're working on)...and the EMOTIONAL drain of getting someone, anyone to push the right button so I"m showed as insured...
http://www.naturopathic.org/
But Obama's plan still "Requires ... individuals who can afford it to buy insurance so everyone shares in the responsibility of reform."
That's regardless of whether or not you take action to be in optimal health or sit in front of the TV eating Big Macs. So people who take good care of themselves, and consequently require less health services, get to help pay for those who don't care for themselves and are in constant need of health care.
I realize that not all medical needs are self-caused, but the majority of them are.
I think we all agree health care is a multi directional initiative. However, it's the insurance industry that has shaped health care into a for profit industry where health outcomes are extremely poor, people are taken advantage of and we are a sicker nation for the greed. This area definitely needs one of the first reforms.
#8 The word "profit" should be removed from health care delivery
We need to take this time to rethink health care but to do that more attention should be given to the internist, FP, pediatrician, and OB areas as they are the ones who treat a wide range of issues.
http://64.203.97.61/SolutionsLab/Solution.aspx?Guid=2d50363e-00be-44e8-9251-9a6589ba820d
Insurance is the big culprit. Get rid of it and most problems are solved.
That's the reason for MRSA and HSAs.
Never ever ever give up!!! Folks, do not forget the marches on September 13th!!! http://marchforhealthcare.com/events/
If not now, when? If not us, who?
Kennedy was one of our greatest champions of health care reform. He carried the torch for a long time...and now it is up to us to continue to carry it!
Our elected officials in Congress receive health care mostly paid for by us tax payers, yet many are trying to make it impossible for us to purchase an affordable plan of our own :
While many of us are struggling to afford medical insurance/medical bills.
While Congress people try to stop healthcare reform.
While Congress people accept large contributions from lobbyists to prevent health care reform.
Please sign these petitions - and by all means, spread the word! Thank you!
http://www.petitiononline.com/PubOp676/petition.html
http://www.democrats.com/honor-ted-kennedy?cid=ZGVtczQ0MTA5OGRlbXM=
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5649/t/4922/content.jsp?content_KEY=2763&tag=hk1_typ-e1
Americans need BASIC healthcare, according to all I`ve read that`s reasonable.
Top specialists to cure the very wealthy of terrifying illness does not a healthcase system make!
And advising people to eat healthy (the benefits of organic have been credibly questioned lately) and to breathe deeply five times a day and, of course, to not smoke, drink excess or do drugs seems to miss this point.
These are high class problems! The so-called holistic medical community should not be capitalizing on this issue.
Acupuncture..may soothe my nerves..but would NOT cure cancer (or for others, ALS, MS, MD leukemia...the list goes on)..FIRST is a guarantee of coverage and treatment..I, Dr...am literally, at age 54, fighting for my life and yes..no drama, just truth...will die, without insurance..another statistic.
"Let me say this about that" J.F.K.
Congratulations President Obama! Your outline of what you propose could not have been made more clear, and can only help everyone in America. To those that still oppose this progressive approach I can only say. " Oh ye of little faith", and I'll add "little charity".
To Rush, Beck and the like who only care about their ratings, I say, "You are nothing compared to the President of the United States" who's only true goal is for the betterment, and to do right for all the American people.
Going forward, our health care system needs to incorporate the best of all different disciplines of medicine. If you are a mechanic, and all you have is a hammer, how far will you get???